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Starburst Ventures

Acceleratoroperating company · company profile

Los Angeles · Seed–Series A · 3 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Starburst operates aerospace accelerator programs supporting startups across space, aviation, and defense. It leverages a network of over 60 corporate partners plus governments, academic institutes, research labs, investors, and incubators to help founders accelerate customer discovery, pilots, purchases, investments, and acquisitions. Programs blend traditional accelerator and MBA approaches with industry-specific knowledge, offering mentorship from industry leaders and subject-matter experts, market research, government resources navigation, networking events, speaking opportunities, marketing and PR support, and guidance on international expansion. Starburst positions itself around a 'second global space race,' where lowered barriers to entry and increased private capital create opportunity for deep tech aerospace ventures.

Source: firm website, verified Sep 27, 2026.

Stage
Seed–Series A
HQ
Los Angeles
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2012
Last 12 months
1 investment
Portfolio companies
9
IPOs
1
Acquisitions
1

Team · 3 people

from public directories
Eric Bielke· General Partner
Francois Chopard· General Partnerin

What they invest in

from 8 of 9 portfolio companies

Defense Tech ×5AI & Machine Learning ×4Robotics ×4Deep Tech ×2GovTech ×2Hardware ×2IoT ×2Space Tech ×2

HQs:United States×5Germany×1France×1

Portfolio companies · 9 tracked

alumni founders can tell you what the program is really like

By year:2026 · 12025 · 12024 · 12022 · 14 dated

Momentusmomentus.spacein𝕏NASDAQ: MNTS

A space transportation and infrastructure services company providing launch capabilities and orbital logistics for satellites and cargo.

Advanced ManufacturingSpace TechSan Francisco, US

Mikhail Kokorich(Founder)inJohn Rood(Executive Officer)inRob Schwarz(Executive Officer)inLon Ensler(Executive Officer)in

BoardBrian Kabot(Director)Jon Layman(Executive Officer)in

Co-investorsC3 VenturesCathexis VenturesEvolution VC PartnersJames Beshara FundNazcaOne Way Ventures+7 more

Alta Aresaltaares.cominMay 2025

Alta Ares builds an AI stack for autonomous air defense and ISTAR, including counter-drone interceptor effectors, an ISR product suite, and mission management software designed for contested, GNSS-denied environments.

AI & Machine LearningDefense TechRoboticsParis, FR

Co-investorsAir Street CapitalApeiron Venture CapitalCherry VenturesHarpoon VenturesKima VenturesOTB Ventures+5 more

Corenovacorenova.com

Corenova Technologies builds Hive Defense, a security platform that combines self-learning swarm bots with blockchain to monitor and respond to real-time events across digital and physical infrastructure.

Crypto & Web3CybersecurityRoboticsSanta Monica, US

Peter Lee(Founder)inMichael Brenner(Founder)in

Orbital Insightorbitalinsight.comMay 2024 · $56.5MAcquired

Palo Alto geospatial analytics company applying AI and computer vision to satellite, aerial and mobile location data; acquired by Privateer in 2024.

James Crawford(Founder)inKevin O'Brien(CEO)in

Co-investorsAnsa CapitalBloomberg BetaBrighter CapitalGen CapitalGeodesic CapitalGV (Google Ventures)+13 more

Outpostoutpost.spacein𝕏Sep 2022 · $7.1M

Outpost is an advisory and operations team of space-industry veterans that helps space companies grow from concept through scale-up, acquisition, and IPO.

Deep TechSpace TechSanta Monica, US

Jason Dunn(Founder & CEO)inCraig Cummings(Director)Aaron Kemmer(Director)Michael Vergalla(Executive Officer)Amir Blachman(President & COO)in

Co-investorsAIR CapitalDraper AssociatesFJ LabsHAWKTAILIA Seed VenturesMoonshots Capital+10 more

Picogridpicogrid.comin𝕏Apr 2026 · $45M

Picogrid provides software and edge computing networks to integrate heterogeneous sensors, drones, and autonomous systems for real-time command and control across defense and wildfire detection applications.

AI & Machine LearningDefense TechGovTechIoTRoboticsEl Segundo, US

Zane Mountcastle(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)inMartin Slosarik(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)in

BoardDavid Cowan(Director)in

Co-investorsAlumni VenturesBasecamp FundBessemer Venture PartnersInitialized CapitalCredo VenturesGiant Step Capital

SeRo Systemssero-systems.dein

SeRo provides airspace surveillance and GNSS performance monitoring through ground receiver networks and analytics platforms.

Deep TechDefense TechGovTechHardwareIoTFrankfurt, DE

Matthias Schäfer(Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer)inMarkus Fuchs(Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer)in

Sightecsightec.comin

Sightec develops visual autonomy software for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) that enables reliable navigation and situational awareness in GPS-denied, urban, and contested environments using computer vision technology.

AI & Machine LearningDefense TechRobotics

Co-investorsPlayfair Capital

WhiteFox Defensewhitefoxdefense.comin𝕏

WhiteFox Defense develops AI-driven solutions for defense innovation and aerospace applications.

AI & Machine LearningDefense TechHardware

Co-investorsFrontier Venture CapitalMoore Venture PartnersSerra Ventures

Exits · 2

1 IPOs · 1 acquisitions · showing 1

MomentusNASDAQ: MNTS

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Starburst Ventures made?
Starburst Ventures has 9 tracked investments, 2 of which have exited, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
What stage does Starburst Ventures invest at?
Starburst Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
What sectors does Starburst Ventures focus on?
Starburst Ventures focuses on Climate Tech, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Hardware, Mobility & Transportation, Space Tech.
Where is Starburst Ventures located?
Starburst Ventures is headquartered in Los Angeles.
Who does Starburst Ventures co-invest with?
Starburst Ventures most often shares deals with Evolution VC Partners, Moore Venture Partners, One Way Ventures, among 11 tracked co-investors.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Francois Chopard, CEO, Starburst Ventures at Global Aerospace Summit | Francois Chopard, Chief Executive Officer, Starburst Ventures discusses how the space-startup culture continues to go from strength to strength, with... | By Global Space CongressFacebook

Francois Chopard · facebook.com

InnoVet – From the Battlefield to Startup

Starburst

IAI CATALYST Accelerator Program Informational Webinar

Starburst

SATE Accelerator Cohort 1 Demo Day

Starburst

Webinar: IAI CATALYST Cohort 2 'Ask Me Anything' #2

Starburst

Accelerating innovation in aeronautics - Panel Discussion during Eurosatory 2024 [FRENCH]

Starburst

Images

Starburst Ventures photoStarburst Ventures photo

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